Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the number of abortions in 2011; why they believe that making abortions more easily available will reduce the number of abortions performed; and whether they will place the evidential basis for this in the Library of the House.

Earl Howe: In 2009, the number of abortions fell by 3 per cent from 195,296 in 2008 to 189,100.
	The department has been working to ensure that abortion providers are better integrated into the broader sexual health "family" of services, so that there are better pathways of referral to and from abortion services, which can help to ensure that women receive the other sexual health services that they need, particularly contraception.
	Contraception plays a vital role in preventing unintended pregnancy and repeat abortions. Since 1 April 2009, any woman having an abortion on the National Health Service must be given advice about, and supplies of, contraception before they leave the clinic. In addition, a specification for abortion services has been issued to support implementation of this requirement.
	Abortion should be seen not in isolation but in the context of wider public health issues, as the public health White Paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our Strategy for Public Health in England highlights and the forthcoming sexual health strategy to be published in spring 2011 will make clear.
	Abortions must be performed within the requirements of the Abortion Act. Our focus has been on ensuring early access to abortion services as evidence shows that the risk of complications increases the later the gestation. The evidence referred to is contained within the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' evidence-based clinical guidance The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library.

Afghanistan

Lord Rana: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the announcement that NATO forces have set a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan, what representations they have made to neighbouring countries to ensure a smooth withdrawal of those troops.

Lord Howell of Guildford: At the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Lisbon in November, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Heads of State/Government set out a clear plan for transition of security responsibilities to the Afghan Government, not a timetable for withdrawal.
	No specific discussions have taken place between the UK and individual nations on the withdrawal of troops. However, NATO/ISAF already have a number of agreements in place with neighbouring countries to allow the movement of equipment and supplies to and from Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Viscount Trenchard: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in reaching their decision to discontinue the Nimrod MRA4 programme, they took into consideration the social costs and loss of employment opportunities at Kinloss.

Lord Astor of Hever: The decision not to bring the Nimrod MRA4 into service was difficult, owing to the nature of the military tasks to which it was designed to contribute, the amount of public money that had been spent on it and the impact of such a decision on the people who have dedicated their careers to delivering this capability or who depend on it for their livelihoods. All these factors were taken into account by Ministers in coming to the decision.
	The Ministry of Defence will of course work to minimise the impact on the local community.

Armed Forces: Commemoration

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 1 December (WA 449), whether they will sponsor research into the identification of the military personnel who were killed or who disappeared in Ireland from 1916 to 1923, for the purpose of their commemoration.

Lord Astor of Hever: There are no current plans to do so. All those who died or went missing believed killed between 1916 and 1921 are already formally commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. For the years between 1 September 1921 and 2 September 1939, responsibility for service burials reverted to the pre-1914 arrangements whereby ships, regiments and units, or the individual's family, buried their own dead and no central records are held.

Arms Trade

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports they have of the operation of re-export control provisions in those countries that have enacted legislation; and whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of all such legislation.

Baroness Wilcox: We requested details of other EU member states' no re-export provisions earlier this year following recommendations made by the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC). The CAEC asked us to compare and contrast our national policy on no export provisions with the policies of other EU member states. We requested this information through the Council Working Group on Conventional Arms and the findings indicate that most other EU member states include no re-export provisions as part of end-user documentation (except for exports to some NATO countries), although Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal have some form of mandatory no re-export provision as part of their export control legislation.
	We do not hold copies of this legislation and are therefore unable to place copies of these in the Library of the House.

Aviation: Passenger Duty

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the report by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation entitled The Impact of Air Passenger Duty and Possible Alternatives for the Caribbean.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are committed to exploring changes to the aviation tax system, including switching from a per-passenger duty to a per-plane duty. The Government have received representations on this matter from a range of organisations, including the Caribbean Tourist Organisation. Major changes in this area will be subject to consultation.

Banking

Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is HM Treasury's forecast of the impact on growth in gross domestic product of the full implementation of Basel III rules for banks.

Lord Sassoon: We welcome the endorsement by the G20 of the Basel reforms to strengthen international capital and liquidity standards, which address a number of the key weaknesses in financial regulation highlighted by the financial crisis. The Basel package represents a credible and crucial set of reforms that will strengthen the resilience of the banking system to the long-run benefit of the economy.
	The UK has consistently argued for a high standard of regulation, while recognising that the short-term impact on economic recovery should be mitigated through appropriate transitional arrangements and careful calibration.
	The Basel Committee has agreed an extended transition period, with most elements of the package phased in gradually from 2013 to 20191. This strikes the right balance. Extending the transition further would unnecessarily delay the move to greater financial stability.
	Work completed by the UK authorities and Basel Committee indicates that strong net benefits will accrue from the package in the long run2. Overall, we believe that the agreed Basel package will deliver significantly greater future financial stability while supporting strong and sustainable economic growth.
	1 For details see: http://www.bis.org/press/p100912b.pdf
	2 For details please see http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs173.pdf?frames=0

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Sir David Walker's statement in his review on the disclosure of bank pay that "an exemplary leadership stance by the United Kingdom in this respect is the most effective way of achieving progress".

Lord Sassoon: The Government are committed to a robust remuneration disclosure regime and the principles set out in Sir David Walker's report. The UK can exercise leadership in a number of ways, including promoting the globally aligned approach that Sir David calls for in his review.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what amount has been transferred to Northern Ireland in each of the past five years to pay for social security, child support, pensions and housing benefit; and what amount is expended annually per head in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland on (a) overall social security, (b) housing benefit, and (c) both.

Lord Freud: Information requested for England, Wales and Scotland is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 England, Expenditure Per Capita, £ 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Benefit Expenditure excluding HB 1,649 1,677 1,762 1,859 1,992 
			 HB Expenditure 240 255 270 291 340 
			 Benefit Expenditure including HB 1,889 1,932 2,032 2,150 2,332 
		
	
	
		
			 Wales, Expenditure Per Capita, £ 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Benefit Expenditure excluding HB 2,032 2,067 2,168 2,277 2,424 
			 HB Expenditure 198 207 220 238 277 
			 Benefit Expenditure including HB 2,230 2,274 2,388 2,515 2,701 
		
	
	
		
			 Scotland, Expenditure Per Capita, £ Nominal Terms 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Benefit Expenditure excluding HB 1,869 1,896 1,982 2,071 2,199 
			 HB Expenditure 238 246 252 269 300 
			 Benefit Expenditure including HB 2,108 2,142 2,234 2,341 2,498 
		
	
	Source: DWP Accounting and Statistical Data and ONS population estimates and projections.
	Notes:
	All figures are in nominal terms.
	Figures may not sum exactly due to rounding.
	Expenditure data include the following benefits, which account for approximately 98 per cent of all DWP benefit expenditure:
	attendance allowance, bereavement benefits, widows benefit, carers allowance, council tax benefit, disability living allowance, housing benefit, incapacity benefit, severe disability allowance, income support, jobseeker's allowance, pension credit, state pension, winter fuel payments, statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance, TV licences for the over 75s and industrial injuries benefits.
	Tables containing benefit expenditure by benefit, local authority and parliamentary constituency can be found at the following URL: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure.
	Comparable data for Northern Ireland, obtained from the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency, is shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Northern Ireland, Expenditure Per Capita, £ 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Benefit Expenditure excluding HB 1,974 2,038 2,105 2,199 2,330 
			 HB Expenditure 194 202 208 225 254 
			 Benefit Expenditure including HB 2,168 2,240 2,313 2,424 2,584 
		
	
	Northern Ireland expenditure data include the following benefits:
	attendance allowance, widows benefit, carers allowance, disability living allowance, housing benefits, rate rebates, incapacity benefit, severe disability allowance, income support, jobseeker's allowance, pension credit, state pension, winter fuel payments, statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance and industrial injuries benefits.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any significant differences between Northern Ireland social security and housing benefit payments and those in the rest of the United Kingdom; and whether they will adjust the annual transfer payment if new housing benefit payment policies are not introduced on a parity basis in Northern Ireland.

Lord Sassoon: Social security is devolved in Northern Ireland, although in practice the system there is very similar to that in Great Britain. A devolved, but broadly parallel, housing benefit system operates in Northern Ireland, administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) to make decisions on housing benefit policies in Northern Ireland. Where costs arise due to divergence between the Northern Ireland system and policy in Great Britain, the NIE must meet those costs.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 2 December (WA 487), what role the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees played in assisting Burmese refugees escaping across the Thai border; and whether they will detail (a) the number of personnel they deployed, and (b) the material support they gave.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is leading the international community's work to ensure that refugees who crossed the Thai-Burma border last month are offered appropriate protection and assistance. UNHCR is liaising with the Thai authorities and working closely with non-governmental organisations and other donors. UNHCR deployed personnel from UNHCR field offices in Kanchanaburi and Mae Sot to the border, where they provided material for temporary shelter and co-ordinated the provision of food, water and medical assistance by non-governmental organisations.

Care Homes: Mobility

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (a) voluntary, and (b) statutory, guidance exists for providers of residential care to ensure the practical mobility of residents; and what procedures exist to monitor that guidance.

Earl Howe: The department has not issued such guidance to providers of residential care. However, providers are expected to demonstrate, as part of the process of registration with the Care Quality Commission, that, where practicable, they provide opportunity and support to residents in promoting their autonomy, independence, community involvement and participation in society.

Cayman Islands

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 23 November (WA 179), what progress has been made in the privatisation of the water company in the Cayman Islands.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The privatisation of the water company is the responsibility of the Cayman Islands Government.
	The Ministry of District Administration Works and Gender Affairs (DAW&GA) has confirmed to the Governor's Office that this process is ongoing.
	Further information about this subject can be obtained from Kearney Gomez, chief officer at DAW&GA, at Kearney.Gomez@gov.ky.

Children: Care

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children have been in care for more than five years; how many are waiting to be adopted; how many and which voluntary adoption agencies have closed in the last two years; and what consideration they are giving to the policy of concurrent planning to enable suitable adoptions.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Around 17,100 children looked after at 31 March 2010 have been in care for more than five years.
	On Thursday 25 November, we published data on the number of children for whom the decision has been made that they should be placed for adoption. This is available on the department's website via the link below:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml.
	Information on the number of children who have been placed for adoption at 31 March 2010 is available from Table A3 in the Statistical First Release Children Looked After in England (Including Adoption and Care Leavers) Year Ending 31 March 2010. Table A3 can be found at the Excel link titled "England Summary Tables", which is available on the department's website via the above link.
	The department does not collect information on the number of voluntary adoption agencies (VAAs).
	The Government recognise that concurrent planning can provide a way in which young children can achieve permanence with the minimum of placement moves and they expect local authorities to consider how they can make this available for those children who would benefit from this approach. This may require more collaborative working and stronger partnerships between local authorities and VAAs.

Consumer Prices Index: Housing Costs

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 23 November (WA 306), when they expect to receive a response from the Governor of the Bank of England regarding his view on incorporation of housing costs into the consumer prices index.

Lord Sassoon: The Chancellor has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues, but it is not government policy to comment on any confidential advice that he receives.
	The Consumer Prices Advisory Committee (CPAC), on which the Treasury is represented, has been established to advise the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) on improvements to the UK consumer prices index (CPI) recommended by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On 6 December, the UKSA endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the CPAC annual report. A key recommendation is that ONS should develop owner occupiers' housing costs indices, using the net acquisitions and rental equivalence approaches, for potential inclusion in an expanded CPI within two years.

Defence: UK-France

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government which are the specific projects which are under active consideration for possible Anglo-French defence co-operation.

Lord Astor of Hever: We made a commitment at the UK-France summit on 2 November 2010 to intensify defence and security co-operation with France. We signed two treaties: a defence and security co-operation treaty and a treaty pertaining to joint hydrodynamics facilities. We also agreed to pursue joint initiatives in the following areas: operations and training; equipment and capabilities; unmanned air systems; defence industry; and research and technology.
	Details of what was agreed at the bilateral summit and those initiatives to be pursued jointly with France can be found in the Summit Declaration on Defence and Security. I have placed a copy of the summit declaration in the Library of the House.
	The Senior Level Group, established under the terms of the defence and security co-operation treaty, will deliver a progress report on co-operation to the next bilateral summit.

Economy: National Debt

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much working families will pay towards interest on the national debt in 2015.

Lord Sassoon: The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that central government gross debt interest will be £63.1 billon in 2015-16.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the number of students in each of the districts of Greater Manchester currently in receipt of education maintenance allowance who will be eligible for financial assistance through the discretionary learner support fund.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Decisions regarding the new discretionary fund will be made locally, enabling schools, colleges and training providers to target support at those young people in greatest need. It is not, therefore, possible to estimate the numbers of young people in receipt of EMA in Greater Manchester who will receive support under the new arrangements on entering an institution of further education in the 2011-12 academic year.

Education: Teacher Training

Lord Liddle: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the White Paper The Importance of Teaching, whether they will clarify their plans for teacher training, in terms of the consequences for universities that specialise in initial teacher training and the likely impact on student numbers on such courses in future years.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The Government have stated their intention in the White Paper to reform the way in which initial teacher training (ITT) is performed and funded to improve the quality of teachers and teaching. The document sets out a number of steps that will be taken to achieve this, including reforming ITT so that more training is on the job. There will continue to be an important role for universities in ITT, particularly in the provision of academic content. Higher education institution/school partnerships will remain a valuable and integral part of teacher training.
	The department expects to inform the Training and Development Agency for Schools of the ITT place targets for 2011-12 shortly. The agency will then write to ITT providers to provide details of ITT arrangements for that period. For 2012-13, we will publish for consultation our detailed proposals for the funding of ITT early next year.

Education: Training and Development Agency

Lord Liddle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will set out their plans for the future funding and role of the Training and Development Agency for teachers.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Our plans for the future role and status of the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) are set out broadly in the recently published White Paper The Importance of Teaching. The constitution of the organisation will remain unchanged into the next funding year and the TDA will continue to have an important role in securing a sufficient supply of good teachers for our schools. We are still working through the detail of its remit for 2011-12. We plan to set this out before the end of the year. We will also publish in the new year our plans for the future funding of initial teacher training in 2012-13 onwards in the light of government proposals to reform the funding of higher education. As part of that publication we will set out further details of the future role of the TDA in relation to initial teacher training in 2012-13 and beyond.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many incidents of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) which resulted in the patient being hospitalised have been reported to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) since 1999 by centres 101 and 017; and how many incidents of OHSS have been reported to the HFEA since 1999 whenever either licensed clinic became aware of OHSS that was less severe.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that, under its adverse incident reporting requirements, centre 0017 has reported no cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Under the same requirements, centre 0101 has reported two cases of OHSS. Both of these cases involved admission to hospital with one graded as severe and the other as moderate.

Equality: Gay Rights

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement their commitment to gay rights.

Baroness Verma: In June 2010, the Prime Minister reinforced the Government's commitment to gay rights by launching an ambitious new work programme Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality. The Government are already making good progress towards implementing the commitments that it contains. For example, we have announced that the rights and freedoms Bill, which will be introduced in early 2011, will include the legislative changes needed to implement our commitment that historical convictions for consensual gay sex with over-16s will not show up on criminal records.
	We have also concluded the listening exercise that we said we would hold on the next stage for civil partnerships and we will announce the next steps in due course.
	In addition, last week the Government published the schools White Paper 2010, The Importance of Teaching, which explained how we will help schools to tackle homophobic and transphobic bullying.
	Other measures that the Government will be taking to implement our commitments on gay rights will be outlined in the detailed action plan which will be published in due course.

EU: Cohesion Funds

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries in the European Union benefit most from European Union cohesion funds.

Baroness Wilcox: The following table shows the breakdown between member states of the structural funds that they receive in the 2007-13 programmes, both by overall quantum and by allocation per person.
	
		
			 Structural and Cohesion Fund Allocations 2007-13 
			 Current prices ERDF ESF Cohesion Fund Total SCEs Allocations per-head € 
			  € million € million € million € million € 
			 Belgium 1.2 1.1  2.3 221 
			 Czech Republic 14.1 3.8 8.8 26.7 2615 
			 Denmark 0.4 0.3  0.6 114 
			 Germany 17.0 9.4  26.4 320 
			 Estonia 1.9 0.4 1.1 3.4 2521 
			 Greece 12.3 4.5 3.7 20.5 1857 
			 Spain 24.0 4.0 8.0 36.0 853 
			 France 9.0 5.4  14.4 240 
			 Ireland 0.5 0.4  0.9 224 
			 Italy 21.9 6.9  28.8 498 
			 Cyprus 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.6 876 
			 Latvia 2.5 0.6 1.5 4.6 1983 
			 Lithuania 3.5 1.0 2.3 6.8 1973 
			 Luxembourg 0.0 0.0  0.1 144 
			 Hungary 13.1 3.7 8.6 25.4 2511 
			 Malta 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.9 2138 
			 Netherlands 1.1 0.9  1.9 117 
			 Austria 1.0 0.5  1.5 181 
			 Poland 35.0 10.0 22.0 67.0 1754 
			 Portugal 11.9 6.5 3.1 21.5 2053 
			 Slovenia 2.0 0.8 1.4 4.2 2104 
			 Slovakia 6.7 1.0 4.0 11.7 2180 
			 Finland 1.1 0.6  1.7 326 
			 Sweden 1.2 0.7  1.9 212 
			 United Kingdom 6.1 4.5  10.6 178 
			 Bulgaria 3.4 1.2 2.3 6.9 884 
			 Romania 9.5 3.7 6.5 19.7 907 
			 Total EU 27 201.1 72.1 73.8 347.0 714

EU: Cohesion Funds

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government which multinational private companies derive the most benefit from European Union cohesion funds.

Baroness Wilcox: A specific answer to this Question is not readily available. Details of all direct beneficiaries of European cohesion policy programmes in all member states are available for viewing via the following: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/country/commu/beneficiaries/index_en.htm.

EU: External Action Service

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are supporting the policies of the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy during the formation of the European External Action Service.

Lord Howell of Guildford: My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, other Ministers and officials have regular contact with High Representative Baroness Ashton and her staff. These contacts include discussions on foreign policy priorities such as Iran, Sudan and the western Balkans where we support an effective coherent EU role. They also include discussions on medium-term policy priorities for the European External Action Service (EEAS)-for example, relations with strategic partners such as China and Russia and the EU contribution to conflict prevention, human rights and development. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Europe regularly express our firm view that the work of the EEAS must respect national competence and the principle of budget neutrality. We also want to see UK candidates succeed in a merit-based appointments system.

EU: Gendarmerie Force

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what policy support they are giving to the European Gendarmerie Force.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The UK does not provide any policy support to the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF), of which it is not part.

EU: Research and Development

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will promote co-ordination and reduce unnecessary duplication of research and development projects by European Union member states.

Baroness Wilcox: The Government support initiatives to achieve more efficient and effective co-ordination between national research programmes. A notable example is joint programming, in which member states' funding bodies combine on a voluntary basis aspects of their national research programmes to address global challenges. The UK is actively involved in several of the joint programming initiatives launched under this initiative, in particular co-leading the one on agriculture, food security and climate change formally launched in October 2010.

EU: Salaries

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take following the decision of the European Court of Justice to overrule the decisions by member states to halve the 3.7 per cent increase in European Union employees' salaries in 2009-10.

Lord Sassoon: The Government have taken wide-ranging measures to reduce the deficit, including a tough pay policy. European institutions cannot be immune from budget austerity. The Government will therefore continue to vote against the proposal for the 2009 salary increment, which remains in place following the ruling by the European Court of Justice.
	The European Union (EU) remuneration package must be brought into line with member states' public sectors. We are pushing actively for reform and will engage fully in a review of the system for salary adjustments, starting next year. We are also taking other steps to reduce the administration budget-for example, through the annual EU budget negotiation-and we have worked with other member states in council to secure a process for European pensions reform, on which we will continue to engage.

Government Departments: Salaries

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated net saving in the pay bill of the Ministry of Defence for each of the next four years if no bonuses are paid and all salaries and increments are frozen.

Lord Astor of Hever: The non-consolidated performance payments made to Ministry of Defence civilians in August of each year are funded from the existing pay bill. That element of the pay bill has been accumulated over time at the expense of consolidated pay awards. They have proven to be a cost-effective way of rewarding staff because they reflect individual performance in year and the payments are non-pensionable and do not add to future pay bill growth. The total pay settlement has been frozen by the Treasury for two years from 2011-12 as part of the Chancellor's emergency Budget. The pay freeze applies to any proposed increases in pay that grow the size of the pay bill, so we cannot, for example, increase the size of salaries, uprate allowances or indeed increase the size of the non-consolidated pot from which performance awards are paid. If end-of-year non-consolidated performance payments were withheld, the estimated net saving in the pay bill for the MoD in the appropriate financial years would amount to:
	
		
			 Estimated savings (£ million) 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Civil Servants 41 41 
			 Armed Forces Nil* Nil* 
		
	
	* The Armed Forces do not pay non-consolidated performance awards.
	I refer the noble Lord to the Answer that I gave on 25 October 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 232) for the estimated net saving in the pay bill in the next two years if all salaries and increments were frozen.
	Savings for 2013-14 and 2014-15 would be broadly the same order of magnitude but cannot be reliably calculated until the details of plans to reduce employee numbers are finalised.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the names of all unpaid advisers to Ministers in the Ministry of Defence.

Lord Astor of Hever: Ministers routinely take advice from a range of people.
	The Ministry of Defence does not have a standard definition for the term "unpaid adviser" but the following individuals could be described as acting in this capacity as members of the Defence Reform Unit Steering Group:
	Lord Levene of Portsoken (chair);
	Baroness Noakes;
	Bjorn Conway;
	Gerry Grimstone;
	George Iacobson; and
	Raymond McKeeve.
	In addition, Dr David Allen (a non-executive director to the Defence Board) is a member of the group.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds the Ministry of Defence has described the work of the United States Congressionally Appointed Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses, and in particular its report of November 2008, as other than independent.

Lord Astor of Hever: I assume that the noble Lord is referring to the statement in my letter to him of 29 July 2010 (reference: MSU 04/04/02/09), which set out the Ministry of Defence's position in full on the Research Advisory Committee and its 2008 report. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
	The committee is composed of lay members, political appointees and scientific members, some of whom hold strong views on the issues that it considers. It was set up to provide accommodations to the Department of Veterans Affairs and does not operate as an independent scientific body.

Health: Funding

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funding for public health will be ring-fenced when it is transferred to local government; and, if so, how.

Earl Howe: As set out in Healthy Lives, Healthy People, published on 30 November 2010, Public Health England will allocate ring-fenced budgets, weighted for inequalities, to upper-tier and unitary local authorities in local government for improving the health and well-being of local populations.
	This public health grant will be made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.
	As a ring-fenced grant, it will carry some conditions about how the budget can be used.
	The department will shortly publish a consultation document, following Healthy Lives, Healthy People, which will set out further details of the proposed funding mechanisms for public health.

Health: Multiple Sclerosis

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide more funding to multiple sclerosis research.

Earl Howe: The department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes applications for support into any aspect of human health, including multiple sclerosis. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.
	Estimated spend by the department on multiple sclerosis research in 2009-10 is £2.1 million. In addition, the NIHR clinical research network provided National Health Service research infrastructure support to a range of studies in multiple sclerosis.

Higher Education: Student Loans

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to encourage low-income students to apply for student loans.

Lord Henley: I refer the noble Lord to the Written Answer that I gave on 29 November.
	No England-domiciled, full-time undergraduate student-or their family-will need to pay their tuition costs up front. Most new students will have more support for living costs than they do under current support arrangements.
	The Government are also proposing a more progressive repayment structure for student loans for tuition charges and living costs, which will apply to all new students from the 2012-13 academic year.
	Students will be expected to contribute only when they have left their course and are earning over £21,000; repayment will be 9 per cent of income above £21,000. Any outstanding loan balance will be written off after 30 years. About a quarter of graduates, those on the lowest incomes, will pay less than those on the current system do at present.
	The Government will take steps to ensure that prospective students are made aware of the new student finance arrangements for 2012-13. This will include a range of written and on-line materials, to be made available in advance of the 2012-13 academic year.

Homelessness

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they forecast levels of homelessness will rise in London due to the cap of £400 per week on housing benefit.

Baroness Hanham: A full impact assessment on Housing Benefit: Changes to Local Housing Allowance Arrangement has been published by the Department for Work and Pensions and copies have been made available in the House Library.
	To help local authorities to provide support where it is needed to ensure a smooth transition, £190 million funding has been made available. In addition, existing customers will be given more time to adjust to any reduction in entitlement, by giving them up to nine months' transitional protection from the anniversary date of the claim.

House of Lords: Life Peerages

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend, prior to the reform of the House of Lords, to complete the commitment in the coalition agreement to create sufficient life peerages to reflect the percentage of votes obtained by each party in the general election; and if so, what final numerical composition of the House that implies.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Decisions on the creation of life peerages to the House of Lords remain a matter for the Prime Minister.

House of Lords: Publications

Lord Naseby: To ask the Chairman of Committees what was the cost of producing the House of Lords 2011 Calendar; and how many were printed.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: It cost £1,000 to design the calendar and £2,884 to print 3,000 copies. Staff of the House are always happy to discuss domestic matters such as this directly with Members.

Housing Benefit

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance will be issued to local authorities in the use of direct payments to landlords where the local authority considers this may help a tenant secure, or keep, a tenancy.

Lord Freud: Early next year, we will be providing local authorities with guidance on the amendment that we are making to the housing benefit payment provisions.

Housing Benefit

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it will be a condition of direct payments to landlords in the private rented sector for them to lower their rents.

Lord Freud: From April 2011, in cases assessed under the local housing allowance arrangements, local authorities will be able to pay housing benefit direct to the landlord where they consider that it would help the customer to secure a new tenancy or remain in their current home. It follows that the rent must be at a level that they can afford. We will work closely with local authorities to ensure that this provision is used in very specific circumstances where landlords are reducing rents to a level that is affordable for customers.
	A number of other circumstances in which benefit is paid direct to landlord remain unchanged-for example, if the tenant is in arrears of eight weeks or more or the local authority considers that the tenant is unable or unlikely to pay their rent.

Housing Benefit

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of local housing allowance (LHA) claimants who will now be offered nine months' transitional protection following the decision to reduce LHA to the 30th percentile earlier than expected in April 2011.

Lord Freud: We estimate that the transitional protection will be beneficial to around 68 per cent of housing benefit customers (over 600,000 at March 2010) who see a reduction in their eligible rent when their local housing allowance rate is reviewed on the anniversary of their claim falling on or after 1 April 2011. Some customers will not get transitional protection if they move or a change in their household means that they become entitled to the local housing allowance rate for a smaller property.

Iran

Lord Rana: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Iran to involve them in conflict resolution in Afghanistan.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The positive engagement of Afghanistan's neighbours is vital in ensuring a coherent political settlement and a smooth transition to an Afghan security lead. Iran is an important player and we are encouraging its co-operation and positive involvement in conflict resolution, though we remain concerned about Iranian links to militant groups in Afghanistan.
	We have had some engagement with Iranian government officials on this issue and there are ongoing attempts to foster increased co-operation on counter-narcotics and cross-border security.

Museums: Funding

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Answer by Baroness Rawlings on 30 November, whether they are reconsidering their proposal to terminate central funding of the Design, Horniman and Geffrye museums by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Baroness Rawlings: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is not ending funding to its non-national museums such as the Design, Geffrye and Horniman museums. These museums have been allocated funding in the next spending period to 2014-15.

NHS: Debt

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the level of historic debt held by all NHS bodies that was held at the beginning of 2010-11 and is likely to be transferred to new NHS bodies at the beginning of 2012-13.

Earl Howe: National Health Service trusts have a statutory duty to ensure that revenue is not less than sufficient, taking one year with another, to meet outgoings properly chargeable to the revenue account. This is known as the break-even duty. The value of the cumulative deficit reported by NHS trusts at the end of the 2009-10 financial year for the purposes of this duty was £589 million. NHS foundation trusts are not subject to the same statutory break-even duty and do not, therefore, have cumulative or historic debt.
	Both strategic health authorities and primary care trusts have a statutory duty in each financial year to contain revenue expenditure, measured on an accruals basis, within approved revenue resource limits. For these bodies, therefore, unlike NHS trusts, there is no corresponding concept of cumulative or historic debt.
	Proposals set out in the NHS White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS are subject to the passage of the forthcoming Bill through Parliament. Detailed arrangements will be considered as part of that process.

NHS: Staff

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the rise in the number of NHS staff assaulted by patients.

Earl Howe: The number of physical assaults against staff reported by National Health Service bodies in England is collated annually by the NHS Security Management Service. Information is not available centrally on categories of perpetrators of reported assaults. Published figures therefore include all assaults and not only those committed by patients.
	It is completely unacceptable for NHS staff to be assaulted or to have to work in fear of assault. We will take all possible steps to encourage co-operation between trusts, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that appropriate action is taken against people who assault staff.
	The NHS Security Management Service will continue to support and assist NHS organisations in taking action to prevent violence and abuse from occurring and in seeking criminal sanctions against those who assault NHS staff.

Northern Ireland Office: Website

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the memorial lecture for Lord Steinberg given by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 16 November was not posted on the Northern Ireland Office media centre website; and whether they will in future ensure that the Secretary of State's speeches dealing with Northern Ireland issues are available on the website.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The memorial lecture for Lord Steinberg on 16 November was not posted on the Northern Ireland Office media centre website because it contained a large amount of Conservative Party-related material. It was, therefore, deemed more appropriate to treat this as a party speech and as a result it was issued through the press office at Conservative Campaign Headquarters.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that any work undertaken by a future Northern Ireland Commission for Human Rights is within the remit of the legislation setting up the body and that any proposals have the support of the local community and are in keeping with the demands of any local requirements.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 10 November 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 89). The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is independent of government and as such is entitled to set its own programme of work, consistent with its statutory functions. I understand that the NIHRC is currently consulting on its strategic and business plans for 2011-13. These are shared with government and reviewed to ensure that the work plans are within its statutory remit.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has received since its creation; and what assessment they have made of the value for money of the commission.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: Details of funding received by the commission in each financial year since its creation can be found in the commission's annual report and accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House or on the NIHRC website, www.nihrc.org. The accounting officer of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission holds delegated responsibility for considering value for money in the commission's operations. The Northern Ireland Office, as sponsor department, conducts a detailed review of all funding as part of the government spending review cycle with HM Treasury. During the course of each financial year, it reviews use of allocated funding through in-year monitoring rounds, regular review meetings, consideration of business cases and departmental efficiency exercises.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 29 November (WA 415), how release of information on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's (NIHRC) draft corporate code of governance would prejudice future free and frank discussions between officials in the Northern Ireland Office and the NIHRC when a synopsis of the contents is in the published covering letter.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: I refer the noble Lord to the Answers given on 29 November (Official Report, cols. WA 414-15). Under paragraph 8 of Schedule 7 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission may determine its own procedure, including its code of governance, which describes in some detail the various responsibilities placed upon commissioners when exercising their functions. The code is still in the policy formulation stage and disclosure of the full draft in its current state would prejudice the Northern Ireland Office's ability to have free and frank exchanges of views or to give free and frank advice to the NIHRC. The code of governance is intended for future publication and a copy of the final version will be placed in the Library of the House.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 29 November (WA 415), whether the abolition of the post of chief executive has any effect on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's proposed draft of a new corporate code of governance.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: I refer the noble Lord to the Answers given on 29 November (Official Report, col. WA 415). The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is responsible for determining its own procedures and for the appointment of the chief executive. The noble Lord may wish to write to the commission directly on this matter.

Office for Budget Responsibility

Lord Lawson of Blaby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the figures for privatisation receipts for each tax year from 2010-11 to 2015-16, as assumed by the financial transactions line in table 4.22 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's report Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 29 November 2010.

Lord Sassoon: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). I have asked the OBR to reply.
	Letter from Robert Chote, Chairman, Office for Budget Responsibility, to Lord Lawson of Blaby, dated December 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the figures for privatisation receipts for each tax year from 2010-11 to 2015-16, as assumed by the financial transactions line in table 4.22 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's report Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 29 November 2010. [HL4754]
	The information that you have requested has not previously been published by the OBR. In line with our release policy, the OBR aims to meet ongoing requests for supplementary forecast information where this will improve the quality of public debate on the public finances. We would therefore plan to release further information on our next scheduled release date that would provide information relevant to your request.
	Our release policy is available on our website at: http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/d/release_policy.pdf
	Where the OBR publishes supplementary material, releases will be made in an orderly manner that promotes public confidence and gives equal access to information. The next scheduled release date for the publication of supplementary forecast information is 21 December 2010.

Overseas Territories: Debt

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of a contingent liability in the context of limits on the debt obligations of an Overseas Territory.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Contingent liabilities are defined as liabilities that may give rise to future financial commitments. For overseas territory Governments, these can include, but are not limited to, healthcare schemes, pension arrangements and national insurance schemes.
	Overseas territory debts are actual liabilities of overseas territory Governments. The UK has agreed with certain overseas territory Governments that their debt obligations will be limited, in the interest of sustainable public financial management and good governance.

Questions for Written Answer

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Questions for Written Answer tabled between 5 October and 11 November were allocated to the Cabinet Office; what percentage of that figure is represented by the nine questions still awaiting a reply after 10 working days; and what are the reasons for the delay.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: A total of 111 Questions for Written Answer tabled between 5 October and 11 November were allocated to the Cabinet Office. The nine questions awaiting a reply after 10 working days on 1 December 2010 represent 8 per cent of the Questions received by the department in that period. As of 14 December, five have been answered, three remain unanswered and one has been withdrawn.

Railways: Colne-Skipton

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on negotiations between BRB (Residuary) Ltd and Lancashire County Council for the sale of the section of the former Colne-Skipton railway line between Colne and the former county boundary.

Earl Attlee: So far as the Department for Transport is aware, the most recent discussions between BRB (Residuary) Ltd and Lancashire County Council on transferring a section of the former Colne-Skipton railway with a view to its use as a cycle path took place on 20 July 2010. At that meeting, BRB (Residuary) Ltd explained the legal obligations and maintenance responsibilities that would need to be transferred to the county council as part of any sale.
	The county council has yet to revert to BRB (Residuary) Ltd following those discussions.

Railways: Intercity Trains

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Statement by Earl Attlee on 25 November regarding investment in railways, whether the further investigation into a new fleet of intercity trains will include a retendering process under EU procurement rules for the new options proposed; and which manufacturers are at present in discussions with the Department for Transport over this potential order.

Earl Attlee: The Statement from the Secretary of State for Transport on 25 November confirmed that the Department for Transport is looking at two options for the replacement of the HST fleet of trains: a revised bid from Agility Trains (which remains the preferred bidder for the Intercity Express Programme option) and an alternative option for an electric fleet of trains that can couple to diesel locomotives. If the latter option is chosen, it would require a new procurement exercise to be initiated.
	Any new procurement exercise would be conducted in accordance with UK and European Commission requirements, allowing all organisations (or consortiums) with the appropriate technical, financial and manufacturing capability to express an interest.

Schools: Academies

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether independent schools registered as charities can convert to academies; and whether they would be allowed to raise additional income through fees if they did so.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Independent schools registered as charities can convert to academy status. The Academies Act 2010 prevents academies from charging fees for admission or education subject to limited exceptions. Such exceptions might include after-hours clubs or tuition.
	Where independent schools convert to academies, they may have non-European economic area pupils who are eligible to remain in the UK only on condition that they do not access state (non-fee-paying) education. In such cases, the academy is required under its funding agreement to charge fees to meet the full costs of providing education for such pupils.

Schools: Teaching Schools

Lord Liddle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they will set out for schools to qualify as Teaching Schools, and on what timescale they will be established.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The department expects the first Teaching Schools to be designated by the start of the next school year, in September 2011. They will be outstanding schools with outstanding head teachers, who will work collaboratively with other schools in an area to improve results for pupils, taking a leading responsibility for providing and quality-assuring teacher and leadership training and offering professional development for teachers.

Sport: Coaching Certificates

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation Sportscoach UK had with independent sports teachers and coaches in its review of the UK Coaching Certificate.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The governing bodies of 46 sports in England were provided with an opportunity to input into the UK coaching certificate review (UKCC) on behalf of the coaches and coaching systems that they represent.
	In addition, there was a range of opportunities for the governing bodies of sport in the other home countries to input into the review to ensure that the future of the UKCC aligns to their coaches' needs.
	The review did not consult sports teachers or coaches separately, but relied on the governing bodies' role in representing their workforce.

Taxation: Patents

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of the announcement by GlaxoSmithKline of a £500 million investment programme in the United Kingdom and the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his written forecast that this was a result of the Government's proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate on profits from newly commercialised patents to 10 per cent, what estimate they have made of the saving to GlaxoSmithKline of this reduction; and what, if any, additional financial support they are providing to this investment programme.

Lord Sassoon: No such estimate has been made, nor are the Government providing additional financial support to this programme.

Telephone Helplines

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will announce the criteria for, and level of funding of, family support helplines for the financial year 2011-12.

Lord Freud: The Department for Work and Pensions does not operate any family support helplines, as these are mostly funded through the Department for Education. However the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, a Crown non-departmental public body of the department, does operate the child maintenance options service.
	The child maintenance options service provides free information on the range of child maintenance arrangements available and supports parents to make informed decisions about the child maintenance arrangement most suited to their circumstances, whether this is a family-based arrangement, a statutory arrangement or one made through the courts.
	As well as child maintenance options being available as a phone service, they are also available as a web-based service or through a limited face-to-face service.

Turkey

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of Christian organisations in Turkey by other religious organisations or by the Government of Turkey.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The British Government have not carried out such an assessment. The treatment of minority religious groups in Turkey, including Christians, is addressed in the European Commission's annual progress reports on Turkey's accession process. The 2010 report states that freedom of worship in Turkey continues to be generally respected. However, the report notes a number of areas for continued focus. These include full implementation of the law on foundations, continued dialogue with the Alevi and non-Muslim religious communities and establishing a legal framework in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Universities: Drop-out Rates

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government which twenty undergraduate universities have the highest drop-out rates; and how many students at all undergraduate universities have failed to complete a degree in the last three years.

Lord Henley: The latest available information on higher education non-completion rates and numbers is provided in tables 1 and 2. Non-completion refers to the number or proportion of UK-domiciled full-time first degree starters who are projected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another UK higher education institution. Table 1 includes the benchmarks for each institution listed. The benchmarks take into account a number of student characteristics: entry qualifications; subject of study; and age to calculate the sort of values that might be expected for an institution's non-completion indicator. Figures for the 2008-09 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in April 2011. More information on non-completion in higher education is available from HESA at the following link: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/category/2/32/141/.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			 The 20 UK higher education institutions with the highest non-completion rates(1) Academic Year 2007-08 
			 Institution Per cent projected to neither gain an award nor transfer (%) Benchmark (%) 
			 UHI Millennium Institute 33.1 19.2 
			 The University of Bolton 29.9 20.1 
			 London South Bank University 29.8 18.7 
			 The University of the West of Scotland 27.0 12.6 
			 University of Glamorgan 26.4 20.5 
			 Thames Valley University 26.3 19.7 
			 London Metropolitan University 24.4 20.3 
			 University of Derby 24.2 19.9 
			 Newman University College 23.2 14.9 
			 The University of Salford 23.0 16.9 
			 The University of Wales, Lampeter 22.4 21.0 
			 University of Ulster 21.7 14.3 
			 The University of Central Lancashire 21.4 16.3 
			 Middlesex University 21.4 18.3 
			 Swansea Metropolitan University 20.8 14.1 
			 The University of Huddersfield 20.3 17.3 
			 The University of Wales, Newport 19.7 16.6 
			 The Manchester Metropolitan University 19.6 16.3 
			 St Mary's University College, Twickenham 19.5 13.4 
			 Staffordshire University 19.2 17.7 
		
	
	Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA): Performance Indicators in higher education in the UK, 2008-09.
	Notes: Percentages are given to one decimal place.
	UHI: University of the Highlands and Islands
	(1) Refers to UK-domiciled full-time first degree students of all ages starting a first degree in 2007-08 who were projected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another UK higher education institution.
	
		
			 Table 2 
			 Non-completion of full-time first degree starters(2) at UK higher education institutions Academic Years 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			 Academic Year Total full-time first degree starters Number projected to neither gain an award nor transfer Percent projected to neither gain an award nor transfer (%) 
			 2005-06 338,920 47,790 14.1 
			 2006-07 324,725 44,810 13.8 
			 2007-08 340,445 44,260 13.0 
		
	
	Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA): Performance Indicators in higher education in the UK.
	Notes: Numbers are rounded to the nearest five and percentages are given to one decimal place.
	(2) Refers to UK-domiciled full-time first degree students of all ages starting a first degree who were projected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another UK higher education institution.